Characterization of genetic exchanges between various highly divergent tbpBs, having occurred in Neisseria meningitidis.
Transferrin-binding protein B (TbpB) from Neisseria is an outer membrane-associated extracellular protein involved in iron capture during bacterial infection. The tbpB genes display extensive divergences throughout the open reading frame (ORF) that have presumably been selected under the pressure of the immune system. Early studies suggested that they could possibly constitute two distantly related groups of genes (sharing less than 57% identical nt). However, the analysis of one tbpB suggested the existence of a greater genetic diversity, and the occurrence of horizontal genetic exchanges leading to rearrangements of highly divergent ORFs. This study has confirmed this and revealed the occurrence of genetic exchanges having involved at least three types of very distantly related tbpBs. These rearrangements resulted from recombination events having occurred at very similar positions within an ORF region encoding a highly structured protein domain, probably due to constraints imposed by protein function and mode(s) of folding. These new data also provide valuable tools for epidemiological studies and evaluation of TbpBs as candidate vaccines.
Legrain
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Transgene 11, rue de Molsheim, 67082, Strasbourg, Cedex, France.
Rokbi
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B
Villeval
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Jacobs
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E
D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D001425:Bacterial Outer Membrane Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics*; D001483:Base Sequence; D002352:Carrier Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics*; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D005798:Genes, Bacterial; D014644:Genetic Variation; D033862:Iron-Binding Proteins; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009345:Neisseria meningitidis / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics*; D016366:Open Reading Frames; D011990:Receptors, Transferrin / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics*; D011995:Recombination, Genetic; D016415:Sequence Alignment; D033882:Transferrin-Binding Protein B; D033863:Transferrin-Binding Proteins
D001425:Bacterial Outer Membrane Proteins; D002352:Carrier Proteins; D033862:Iron-Binding Proteins; D011990:Receptors, Transferrin; D033882:Transferrin-Binding Protein B; D033863:Transferrin-Binding Proteins